Becoming Conducts
by Keytalk
Summary: Read and be enlightened by a slice of life.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Origins

A sky. That's the first thing I saw. A green, violet sky. Below its height lies the blue grass. Surrounding it was dancing magenta flames that burned nothing - not even the blue grass.

I was sitting down, patting my pet cyborg dog. It licks my hand with its holographic tongue.

Then, auroras filled the air alongside the meteors of the comets... Wait, what? Am I high or something? Why am I seeing such things? This is... kinda trippy.

Then, I hear that electronic loop sound of the Nyam Cat character. I look towards the direction and saw a rainbow train. Directed... directed at me!

I couldn't move. I was too mesmerized, I guess... W-huh? What is happening...?!

The wheels rolled faster... faster... faster...!

-...-

The alarm clock rang. Ugh, so loud... I reached for it by my hand, but just managed to knock it off my side table. A dream. Just a dream.

I laughed at myself in the inside, while desperately trying to look at the sunlight covered by my curtains. "Mmm...",

God, I sound so intoxicated.

"...what day is it...?". Such a retard.

I desperately tried to stand, away from my tempting bed, then I slowly reached for the alarm clock I toppled over. Ah, finally. Silence. Silence is good in the morning. I slowly approached the calendar.

June... June 14... Eh, just another day of the month. Time for my routine... I went to the kitchen to fetch a cold glass of water - just enough to shake my soul live again. Ah, refreshing. I look towards the counter where mom and dad usually leaves their "work stuff". Gone. Nothing but steel.

"Mom and Dad's out working again, huh? Just me again I guess..." My parents are usually at home, but maybe this time they needed that overtime again, huh?

Oh well, my routine, I guess... I headed for my computer, to do my usual thing - Skrype away with my friends, since it's summer... I'm still kinda sleepy though... Eh.

*Me and you, you and me, let's go back let's go*

My cellphone suddenly rung; a call. Huh, very unusual... Ah hell. I made a run for it. Well, technically a "drunk jog" if you must.

I finally got to my bedroom, my cellphone ringing and vibrating near my pillow on the bed. I picked it up to see who was calling.

"Himiko Tanaya". Oh, her. Wonder what she wants... I answered. I heard the usual high pitched voice she has.

"Where the hell are you?!" She says, with her always joyful/humorous/annoyed fusion tone of delivering her lines.

"Um... Good morning..?" I still sound so sleepy. "Are you kidding me? Don't tell me you forgot?" Her usual tone of mockingness. I'm always amused by how she speaks for some weird reason...

I'm so clueless right now...

"Forget... forget what...?" I said cluelessly, trying to lie down once more. "June 14! Today's June 14!". Um... what?

"Yeah, today's June 14 - Oh crap."

My head suddenly felt earthquakes. I felt adrenaline rushes in my heart. It's June 14! Today's the day we go to college! Oh, all those time I spent playing with them on that MMORPG, I got too comfortable of summer. I jumped instantly from my bed, waking myself desperately.

"Well, hurry up!", always pushy, aren't you?

"I'm the only one here at the bus stop. Don't keep me waiting."

She says with that usual mix of hers - concern, annoyance and upbeatedness.

"Right, right. See you there. Bye." I responded more actively. I hung up.

Forget cold water, I should set Himiko's voice as my "soul livener".

Everything that happened was a blur. Probably because when I rush, I consider it as cramming. When I cram, it's as if everything is automatic for me. As if it was a scripted program. Run, go to the kitchen. Get popcorn, put in microwave, set.

Okay, run, get towel, then reach the bathroom. No, you cannot sing right now, you need to hurry! Okay rinse, soap, rinse, shampoo, rinse again, brush your teeth, rinse again, okay, final rinse, get your towel and dry yourself. Wrap towel around you. Get belt, okay clothes... Okay, wearing clothes successful. Bag, bag... Dammit! Where is my - oh there. Okay, check contents... Okay good. Wear glasses, watch, baller...

Okay rush to the microwave in the kitchen! Why is it cold...? Oh damn, the plug! Okay, plug on. Set timer, start!

I eagerly looked at my wrist watch. "8:29 am". I remained complacent for a while. Realizing it was still early... And Himiko's an early bird! It's still too early! Too early, I say.

Ah, this is quite frustrating. I reached for my phone to call Himiko.

"Hey, Himiko! School starts at 11am!".

I could hear her suppressed giggles over the call. Deceived again, are you, Marche?

"Ahaha, sorry. It's the best way to motivate you, you know~" I was a little pissed, but that's why I'm friends with her. It amuses me all the time.

"Himiko..." I say with my fake "trying hard" pissed voice.

"Aw, just get here! I miss you~"

"Lol, screw you." I say with a joking manner.

"Haha, why? It's true! Anyway, you should be prepared. Get here now!". She hung up, the same time the popcorn was done. What a weird coincidence...

Ah, the smell of popcorn... Lingers in the air... Yeah, popcorn's my breakfast. It may sound a little - or a lot- bizzarre, but It's fun! I looked at my watch. Way too early, but I'm no longer sleepy. I should get going.

Good thing the floor's made of cold marble. I could've slipped at that speed if it wasn't. I head for the door. Shoes, shoes... Are my eyes that blind? Okay, got it.

I stepped out of my door, my poodle giving me a welcome greeting. Gray fur, fluffyness, thlse kinda things.

"Im'ma be out for a while, Meatstick."

I pat his head, then opened the gate, and started my journey.

College, huh? Must be nice... But, I'm stuck with those three friends of mine. Ah, this is gonna be a hell of a ride.

Motor sounds. A tricycle appears from the horizon. I gestured my hand to call the tricycle. He stops.

"Destination, sir?", He asks politely.

"To the Sanscript Bus Station, please.", I say, as I get in the tricycle. The engine starts, the usual shakes when inside its side car... This is it. The start of my journey.

END


	2. Chapter 2 - The Start Of The Journey

Chapter 2 – The Start Of The Journey

The wind. So gentle... Good thing the tricycle's open. It's cooler, and the morning air's helping on that.

The sun shines from a distance, making a beautiful blend on the vast, blue sky. My summer's over once again, huh? Ah, school, right? Or university? Which is it? Ah, hell, nevermind. I'll figure it out.

The tricycle stops. Ah, I see. The stoplight's on red. "174" seconds... Really? I have to wait that long? The wind... it's gone... Well, this is going to be a while.

I reached for my bag, searching for my form. Think of it as resume or more of a little infosheet of your life. They say I need it when applying for college. Oh well.

Oh no, don't tell me. Nope. This is not happening. I desperately search the form in my bag. Notebook, clothes, bathing supplies, charger, earphones... No, no, no, no, no! This is not happe - oh, okay found it.

A brown envelope protected by a plastic envelope. Good, no folds so far... Still, why not just a plastic envelope? Why must it include the brown one?

"Name : Marche Del Marta"

"Age: 19"

"Height: 5"8

"Weight: "

I got interrupted with the tricycle suddenly moved. Green light. Ugh, It's so shaky here...

Seems like nothing changed out of the 19 years I existed, huh? Same streets; faded white paint to mark lanes, always acquiring little trash amongst themselves. The smell in the air... Definitely the same. Ah, nothing's really new.. At least the wind is back.

"9:02am". I'm nearing the bus station; nearing to college; nearing to where I get a taste of what life really means; of what it demands.

The Sanscript Bus Station... A whopping 29ft high roof and a very large area for buses to park; maybe a couple of hectares. Just satisfactory to the needs of buses.

"I'll be leaving just here, sir!" I yell to the tricycle driver, trying to beat the motor sounds.

The tricycle stops. I gave him a full bill as payment.

"Um...", he says with disbelief, "I don't have the coins needed to give you the change..."

"Oh. That's okay, just keep it, then." I say with a smile. I see a smile forming on the poor soul as well. He looks... quite different from the typical tricycle driver... Blue eyes, white skin, probably around 5"11 or so.

"T-thank you, youngster... I hope good luck comes to you." He says with delight. I bow my head just a little to show gratitude, then he left. Youngster, huh? Do I not look like a College student? Oh well.

The scenery hasn't changed at all. People staying at the waiting shed, some asleep, some bored. Then people just rushing to get to their bus. It's like a swarm of bees or a stampede. Ah, I'm going to have a hard time locating Himiko.

"Gah-!" A push from behind. Ugh, who was that? I look back to the direction of the force, down to one knee. A girl, blond hair... Wait, huh?

"E-Emelyn...?", just a guess, though I'm pretty confident with it.

"H-how..."

Her voice, somewhere in the Alto regions, and the slur in some of her words... Yup, it's Emelyn Hemlock.

"...did you know my - Ohh, MARCHEEEEE!". Her constantly sleepy tone.. Definitely her. She gets up while retrieving the contents of... probably looks like what she bought over Mini Go.

"Hey. Summer's over now huh?". I say, helping her. She just grins at me.

"Long time no see...", she offers her hand, I shake it; how she always start our conversations every single time. We still continued to shake hands for a long time. Green eyes, thick frames for eyeglasses, blond hair just led straight down, and a bright color of brown or khaki skin, I'm not certain. Brightly tanned? I'm never good at colors..

"So what, we're just going to shake hands till all the buses leave?", I told her in a sarcastic tone

"Ahahaha... Yeah...", she said, smiling; her um... "high" smile. I tried to let go of her hand, she tightens hers.

"Hey, Himiko's waiting, dude, let go", I said, she loosens her grip.

"Aw, I'm a girl, Marche...", she says by using her hurt/cute (fake) voice.

"Ahaha. You know already that "dude" to me is for all, right?" I say while placing my left hand on her right shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah. Hey! Get off...", she says, still with the constant sleepy tone and smile. I reply with just a grin.

"Okay, enough about that. Do you, though I doubt it, know what post the japanese is waiting?", I say, scanning the area.

"Japanese...?". Emelyn, what? We graduated high school together, right? All those practices? Dance nights? Ah... the practices... Wait, keep your head together, Marche.

"Aw, dude, really?". I say, very disturbed. Unbelievable, but that's one of her traits that made us friends. She still looks puzzled.

"Himiko! Where's Himiko-chan?". A light shone from her eyes. Ah, thank God you got it.

"Oh! Right... She's at 17. She got hungry while waiting for you, so she forced me to buy supplies for both of us...", she told me with a pitiful tone, but laughs after. Ah, Emelyn, always weird. arent'cha?. She gestures to me to follow her.

People everywhere... So many of them... A man sleeping on a chair, a family that looks like they're in peril, children laughing and playing here, children that looked depressed over there...

These people have different stories. I can only leave it to my imagination, as to what stories their minds hold. I feel kinda sad now, I should stop.

Emelyn taps my shoulder, breaking me out of my trance.

"Marche, that's my job..." So monotonous.

"What job...?" clueless yet again, Marche?

"Spacing out since I'm the sleepy one over here..." She says, trying to sip out of here softdrink. I tried to look at the posts we were passing by. "15", almost there..

"If I say, 'How's summer?' then it must be rhetorical huh?" I say. We Skrype all the time but it seems like it's been decades. Her smile isn't fading; that's how she is when she's reunited with someone she hasn't seen for quite a while.

"Yeah, probably..."

We reach post 17, instantly recognizing Himiko. She's literally a rare breed. Redhaired, violet eyes, white skin, about 5"4. She wore a polo shirt with a black striped necktie, a red skirt, long socks and black sneakers.

I waved my hand as a sign of greeting. She just smiles from a distance, but this smile... I got a bad feeling about this.. It might be "the smile", when she smiles but has something else planned.

"Hey Himiko, how's it - and what's with that stare?" She stared at me intently, arms crossed, but with that mocking smile of hers.

"Took you long enough!" She says with a chuckle.

"You're really slow at showing up, aren't cha?" She says, still with her arms crossed.

"Hey, why are you blaming me?!" I say, trying to minimize a smile. "I'm not like an early bird like you."

"Oh, whatever." She rolls her eyes, handing me over a Hill Dew softdrink.

"Thanks.", I say, gulping the contents. I'm glad I have these guys with me to college, or I might be a dead kid again. Oh well.

"So, this is it, huh?" I say to them.

"Really, Marche? Really?" Emelyn says with her typical voice.

"Um... What?". Emelyn's mind is sometimes out of this world, you know?

"Nothing." She says, laughing. She may be like that, but she's a friend. I could remember how we first met back then...

It was still at Grade 6 back then... When I was still immature.

It was the age of the guitars, when everyone, and by I mean "everyone" is the people I usually see and take note of, knew how to play a guitar. I was a slave to trends back then, so I tried to play the guitar as well.

I still remember my first guitar. A red one, about 20 frets, and such a good acoustic sound.

I was sitting at the cemented 3-stepped stage. Alongside it was just an average parking lot and this is also the schoolgrounds. Weird, right? But, the cool air makes up for it; in the morning, that is. The open area; perfect for playing the guitar. I started to play then. How terrible, I was, in playing the guitar. My chords were always dead, and pressing the strings stung a little bit.

I kept on playing, then I got a little bit frustrated. Eventually, I stopped playing for a while, as I was pissed at myself and my fingers needed a rest. That's when she showed up.

"Hey, nice guitar! Can you play for me?".She was still short back then. Same blond hair, with a guitar in hand. She was still full of energy back then, but her "high" voice was bit by bit showing.

I was incredibly shy before, as I am constantly being bullied in Grade 4, my confidence was almost completely shattered. I just stared at her, not knowing what to say.

"Um... Hi?", I say awkwardly. I wasn't that good in dealing with strangers before. Well, she wss my classmate and all, but...

"I'm Emelyn! You're Marche, right? We were classmates last year?" She says cheerfully. I wonder what she wants from me...?

"Oh, um... yeah." Still shy. No matter what I do, I still feel shy. She's even cute! That makes it more worse. I get easily distracted by cute girls before. Just the cute ones, and that was before. So redundant.

"Well? Play! Play! Play!". She says while smiling, as if I was a guitar genius or something. So I did. Strummed a couple of times, trying hard to press but continuously reducing the applied pressure. It hurts.

"Oh, looks like you need help." She sat down beside me, with her never-ending smile, andtutored me in playing the guitar. She's good in our age; that's something you can't deny. Her tutorials were suprisingly helpful in my end. Then, after that we just sang and sang, not recognizing other people. Then, the bell rang.

"Thanks, um...". I forgot her name! I was so terrible at names back then..

"Emelyn.", she reminded me. "You shouldn't forget it, alright?". Then she just kept on smiling till the end, dismissing us with a wave.

That's where our friendship sprouted; from me playing just a simple guitar...

I like my memory so much. It's amazing on how I can still remember these things.

"Ugh, Emelyn? We graduated high school and you're still like that?" Himiko says with her mock form voice.

"I'm sorry..." Emelyn says with her mix of joy/hurt kinda tone. Let's just call it her um.. "grave" voice. Then, I burped.

Emelyn burst into laughter, but not that hard. Himiko just managed to smile with her eyebrows frowned, but did the *bfffft* sound effect.

"Okay, enough about that...". I say, trying not to laugh at myself.

The bus station isn't ideal at the afternoon. I'm so glad we decided to leave in the morning. The sun wasn't upon us. Yet. Even though there were many people at this time, it's still cool so it doesn't feel like we're being suffocated.

You could still feel the moist soaring through the air.

"Hey. This is it. The step we make to the adult life, huh?". I say, just staring at that clear blue sky filled with cirrus clouds.

"Yeah, you don't have to repeat it, alright?". Himiko says with a pissed voice.

"I'm just joking, Marche, chill...", she says laughing. I don't mind though since that's who she really is.

"But, yeah. This is it. When we go home in the campus itself; with nothing else to pay but our tuition fees and food." Himiko says with her smile like always.

"Hey... We aren't really in adulthood yet... Just the preparatory stage...". Emelyn says while stretching, sitting on the long, green metal bench.

"You don't need to point it out, Emelyn." Himiko says in her joking manner. The usual kind she uses.

"I'm sorry..." Emelyn says again with her "grave" voice. Then they just started talking and talking. I couldn't remember all of the things they were talking about.

All of those days spent in High School; those projects, quizzes, exams; now tested as I enter college. Time moves fast, I thought. I looked at my wristwatch. "9:47 a.m." Damn, the bus isn't here and a long trip is still ahead of us. Now that I thought about it something felt very weird...

Someone taps my shoulder from behind. Strange, but the presence seems familiar...

"Hey."

-END-


	3. Chapter 3 - Old Roads

Chapter 3 - Old Roads

Back at Grade 8... I could still remember how I met her.

Our high school campus. It's very cool there. I mean, cool temperature not cool "swag". Anyways, it's on a mountain, so what did you expect? The school's gates were 2 giant, green metal doors. They were both located in one 18ft tall wall. One was for the exit, the other was for the entrance. From the outside, you can see the Lower Building - basically because that's where the location of the freshmens and sophomores at.

Trees surrounded the school, providing cool breezes 24/7 - One of the things that made me fall in love with the school. Well, maybe the ONLY thing, I don't really know.

In our school, each year, the students get jumbled up to make a new set of students per class. Well, this is a common procedure in our school. I wound up at Class A, but letters doesn't justify any rank whatsoever - order of arrangements of students are completely random.

June 17. The day before Grade 8 decides to take hold of me. I wasn't comfortable in switching sections because I was too comfortable in my section during my freshmen years.

Back then, I wasn't playing any sort of MMORPGs, so I didn't usually use Skrype. My only connection to social networking was Handpage. I started asking all of my classmates to know what classrooms they were assigned to for this school year.

In the end, I only came down to 3 classmates that was in the same section as me. My heart pounded, as I was going to meet 41 other people in a class. I couldn't sleep back then. The excitement of going back to school; nervousness from the upcomming new encounters. Put that in a blender, see what happens.

My alarm sets off. I reached for snooze to maybe just delay the-

"Mar, wake up! Don't hit the snooze button, it never ends well for ya!"

Our housekeeper shouts at my ear.

"C'mon, it's your first day of being a sophomore, at least be energetic!"

Housekeeper Claire. One loyal, hardworking adult "keeping the house" together. Whaddya think, huh? No? Okay, fine.

"Grr coming!", I said with a struggle. It's not easy to wake up knowing that you slept like 2 hours ago. The "blender of emotions" kept me more active than coffee.

It was just a typical day. I prepare myself for school, eat breakfast, then simply wait on the school service.

"My, my, you're a Sophomore now... I can still remember when you were still in Grade 4... You were such a crybaby!"

Claire exclaims, with her brightful smile; a smile never modified by her work.

"I kinda wanna not go today... I want my old classroom back!" I say, with a tone similar to a child being refused of candy, but less intense, if you know what I mean. Pretty sure you do.

"Nah, don't worry about it. New schoolyear means new classmates means new experiences!"

Claire says trying to cheer me up.

"Besides, it doesn-"

Her sentence was interrupted by a horm of a vehicle; my service.

"No time to chat now, you have to go."

Claire says, giving me a little push and handing me my food for the day.

"Thanks, I hope it does work out..."

I say with doubt.

"Hey, no worries.", was the last thing I remember.

The classroom. It's way more smaller than my previous classroom, but it's cooler since we're up on the second floor, and the school's built on a mountain..

I take a random seat like every single year I've spent in school since grade school.

I look around my surroundings; I don't see my old classmates, just fresh faces that I don't even know. Then, a voice silences and fills the whole classroom.

"Good morning, Classroom A. I am Miss Fryde, your adviser for this school year..."

Then, on and on went the day. The teacher says stuff about her, then students introduce themselves up front of everybody.  
That includes me, too, as well.

Then, I get to know my classmates very well. I met a real deal of them: Charice, Keith, Sceleine, Helena, Zaielle and others...

Days passed, days came and went. A quarter ends alongside a new one starting. My days of being a sophomore wasn't half bad.

Practices, quizzes, debates, projects, programs, birthdays, competitions; events like this came round and round at ky sophomore years.

People cried or rejoiced in Valentines Day. Big preparations were made for the anniversary of the school. Mass by mass gone and passed. Then it came.

"You studied yet?", Helena said, Bowing towards me, leaning on my armchair.

She was probably 5"1 or 5"2 or somewhere in the middle. She had her hair always done in a ponytail. She had dark brown eyes, white skin, a cute chin with slightly chubby cheeks and skinny.

An orange watch by her wrist; a simple looking girl but definitely extraordinary. Logical, smart and would crush her opponents in a debate. Mm, some of the things I admire about her.

"Not yet, and the test is in like 2 hours?" I tell her, trying to imitate the sound of defeat.

"Haha, High Five!", she says, chuckling

"You haven't, too, didn't cha?", I say returning her high five.

Our classroom's size is at moderate. It can accomodate 45 students at max. Nothing special to it, a blackboard, windows, doors, an armchair for each participating student, you get the jist.

"You can say that." She crosses her arms, looking up with one eye; let's call it her "enlightened look".

"Sheesh, don't review. You know our brains think alike and it likes different methods in learning."

She says while placing her hand on my shoulder.

"At least I read something, right?"

"Ah, fine, that's your life anyway." She says, flicking her hand like it's not the final exams for the school year.

Someone slams me at my back, intentionally. Kind of a gentle slam.

"What's that?", a tiny voice says.

"Oh, jeez, calm yourself, Zaielle."

Helena points out to Zaielle, looking at her with one eyebrow raised.

Zaielle's voice was tiny. She was shorter than Helena. She does her hair at random, but today it was on pigtails. Pigtails. Yep.

Her eyes were small, had small but puffy cheeks, probably the result of everyone trying to pinch it all the time. White skin, delicate and tries to hug everyone. Well, only her targetted individuals

"Final exams, Zaielle. Can't you see those formulas?" I say, reminding her.

"Oh crap, tests start today?!" Zaielle says, in the state of disaster.

"Uh... yeah?" Helena says.

"Gimme those notes, I haven't studied!" She says, grabbing my notebook, making a hit and run for her seat.

"Hey, I ain't do- ah forget it."

"The formulas you were reviewing aren't part of the test, Marche." Helena says, arms crossed. I literally went to facepalm mode.

"You mind... telling me sooner?" I say, revealing one eye looking at her.

"Haha, cheer up! At least that lessens the burden, right?" Helena says, looking straight to my face, smiling.

"Ah, typical Helena."

"Argh, get off, Zai." I say, trying to break free from the hug. She immediately runs to Himiko, hugging her tightly.

"You bastard." Himiko says, patting Zaielle's head.

Emelyn raises her hand for a high five to Zaielle, while looking with peered eyes.

"You haven't changed in height, Zaielle..."

"Eh? What a nice thing to say, Emelyn." Returning the high five with force.

"Ow! I'm bored, okay...?" Emelyn says, then drinks from her Hill Dew bottle.

Zaielle places her bag on the bench, stretching. She wore a pink sweatshirt, with a heart in the middle. A pink bonnet, pink shoes, and slim-fit pants. The gal's a cosplayer, so that bag's probably full of clothes than notes... Eh, I don't know.

"Aww come on, are we going yet?" Zaielle says, watching the other passengers go on their separate journeys.

"Yeah, Himiko said we should be at school by 11 or 12..." I say looking to Himiko.

Himiko shrugs, and brushes her hair from her ear.

"Well... actually..." Himiko starts. Oh no, don't you dare, dear friend.

~To be continued~ 


	4. Chapter 4 - Completion

Chapter 4 - Completion

"Himiko...", I say, looking straight towards her eyes, she lets out just a tiny smile on her face

"You have something to tell us?"

"Er, yeah... School starts tomorrow, actually..." Himiko says, stroking her hair like she used to whenever she reveals something.

"Screw youuuuuuuuu!", Zaielle says, using her disappointed/smiling face plus tone combo. Call it her "pseudo-rage"? Anyways.

"Oh, shut up." Himiko says to Zaielle straightforwardly.

"Eh, it doesn't really bother me..." Zaielle utters, pacing back and forth while sitting on the bench.

"And I know." Himiko responds, looking at Emelyn, as if waiting for some sort of response.

"School starts tomorrow? Eh, okay." Emelyn's reaction, as she drinks again from her Hill Dew bottle. Nothing more, nothing less, pure Emelyn.

"Well, okay, fine, but at least tell us why you fed us false information?" I say, directed at Himiko.

"You know, so we could prepare early, get settled in, have a little reunion, sleep early and be fully rested by tomorrow's sign-ups. Not a bad plan, right?" Himiko explains, capping and uncapping the cap of her Cosa-Loca.

Ah... I see. Well, it's not actually bad... It does sound nice.

"Ermm, hi? Did I miss anything?", a girl at the back of Himiko asks.

"Oh, no, you clearly didn't miss the bus, but certainly not the plot twister." I reply, using a joyful/sarcastic tune.

Deena Fuukyen. Brunette, straight hair, probably around 5"1 or 5" flat. Slightly darker than Himiko, but when I say "slightly" I mean, Himiko's skin is colored snow so Deena's skin is colored coffee in the ice cream flavour, or the color of the coffee at Moonbucks. You get the picture. She wore a brown jacket with a black shirt underneathe, black jeans, and white sneakers.

"Eh? What plot twister?" Deena responds, in a very confused tone.

"School starts tomorrow, Deena." I tell her directly.

"Whaaaat? No… why did you do this, Himiko…?" Deena says in her "why-did-you-trick-me" voice.

"Hahaha, nahh, it's okay I guess…" Deena says afterwards. Sometimes, Deena can be so high, it raises suspicions…

"Hey, China girl. Long time, no see." Zaielle says, with a slap on Deena's back.

"Ow! That's how you treat me warmly?" Deena responds with a slight smile, rubbing her back.

"Oh, suck it in, it's just a slap." Himiko says, with eyebrows that suggests she's irritated.

"Yeah, that comes from the heart if you don't know." Zaielle laughs.

Deena just laughs a bit, looking at me. I just wave my hand towards her. She waves back. A.K.A. how we greet each other.

"Hey, Deena! Did you watch the series I sent you?" Emelyn says, with her constant tone.

"Oh, yeap. It was kinda heart breaking, to be honest, hahaha…" Deena replies with a slight grin.

"But, I sent you an Action series, and no one actually died." Emelyn said, with confusion.

"Yeah, it was action wasn't it?" Deena replies, with a slight hint of uneasiness.

"Hm… who was the main character?" Emelyn asks, with one eyebrow raised.

"Ah… Umm.." Deena utters, shifting her eyes left and right.

"..You didn't watch it, did you?" Emelyn concludes.

"No. Sorry, I lied.." Deena scratches her head, trying to shrug it off. Emelyn wore a facial expression of betrayal and dismay. She's just acting, by the way…

"That's just Deena. You guys should be used to the fact that Deena's a hypocrite." Himiko remarks, looking sharply at Deena.

"Wow, one lie, and I'm the bad girl?" Deena says, with her shoulders raised.

"Oh, so you're a bad girl, are you, Deena?" I said, trying to suppress a smile.

"You never told us throughout these years, Deena…" Zaielle says with an intuitive voice, looking up at Deena.

"Wait, that's not what I mea-" Deena desperately says

All of us laughed. We just couldn't keep it in. Welcome to our group! Where dirty jokes will never be ceased from existence!

"Argh! Do as you with then…" Deena says, still with a smile, trying to act down.

"Aww don't be sad, we know what you meant." Himiko says, kneeling down on Deena, touching her shoulder.

"It doesn't really bother me." Deena responds with happiness.

"Here." I tossed one of the soft drinks Emelyn got from Mini Go. Deena caught it and drank the contents from it.

"Ah, thanks. I was dying for some refreshments… Need I remind you guys, it's way too early for the buses to arrive?" Deena says, with a little bit of frustration.

"Told you, you're the only early bird here." I said softly to Himiko.

"Well, it's better to be early than to be late, right?" Himiko rebuts.

"Can't argue with that." I responded, taking a sip from my drink.

"I'm thirsty! Give me one of those drinks, Marche." Zaielle tells me as if she's late for an appointment.

"Mmm, which one, Prep-C or Zarsee?" I asked her.

"I want Rolays!" Zaielle responds with cheer.

"Pick one of the two, Zai, it's the only ones I can give you." I responded, urging her to answer.

"Aww, fine… give me the Prep-C…" Zaielle says with disappointment. I tossed her a bottle of Prep-C, she failed to catch it.

"Oh, come on, Zai." Himiko smirks at Zai.

"What? Marche tossed it too high!" Zaielle responds, laughing at her own mistake.

"Ah, fine. Wait, don't - " Too late for Himiko. Zai opens the bottle. Guess what happens next? Yup, the volcano errupted, soaking Zai's clothes.

"Zai, you're not supposed to open soft drink bottles when shaked, or else that happens." Himiko says in a disappointed/amused tone.

"B-but, I'm really thirsty… I'm going to drink anyway." Zaielle shrugs it off, drinking and still laughing at her mistake.

"Restrooms just around the corner, change your top, dude." I say, pointing to the restroom's location.

"Lemme just get some clothes… Emelyn, accompany me, please?" Zaielle tries her "puppy dog voice".

"Aww, do I have to?" Emelyn says reluctantly.

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" Zaielle says enthusiastically, trying to convince Emelyn.

"Fine, but let's make it quick…" Emelyn gets up lazily, as if she's just woken up from a deep slumber. She and Zaielle left for the restroom, leaving the three of us behind.

I glanced over my wrist watch. It's 11am. The temperature in the air changes from cold to hints of warmth.

"Come to think of it." I said, directing my sentence to Himiko.

"If we thought of it clearly, we would've never gone in time to the university today if it starts at 11am since the buses arrive at 11:30am." I say, realising it's partly my fault that I've been deceived by Himiko.

"What the heck are you saying?" Himiko says, squinting her eyes at me as if I made no sense, but in a good way. If that had a good way…

"Haha, just a random thought, I guess." I replied, leaning back against the bench. Ah, what a way to start a day… From days that consisted of eat-play-sleep, the routine's broken in this day, huh? I'm not used to it anymore. I honestly wanted to do the "eat-play-sleep" thing till the end, but… Responsibilities. Why do we have them?

"You know, buses… have wheels." Himiko says, pressing up against me.

I stared at her. Aw, here comes the joke. Brace yourself.

"They go round and round, eyyyy" Himiko wears a large grin across her face, waiting for our reaction.

"That was the most terrible joke you've made so far. Usually it clicks, but I think you've lost your touch, Himiko." I responded, with my arms crossed, with a slight smile.

"Yeah, that sucked." Deena responded, but she's laughing now.

"…Fine, whatever!" Himiko rolls her eyes, facing away from us, but she's okay. I guess.

Emelyn and Zaielle comes back, with a white long sleeved shirt as replacement from the incident a while ago.

"Are the buses here yet? I wanna sleep…" Emelyn utters, looking for any sign of salvation.

"Well, speak of the devil." I said. Or Demon-object…? Whatever. The buses arrived, and it was time for us to board it.

The doors of the bus opens, cool air rushes out from the bus.

"All aboard! We're departing in 10 minutes!" The bus conductor shouts. We weren't that many on post 17, so I think we won't be that crowded inside our trip. Sheesh, how large is this terminal?

"Okay." I said softly. "This is our ride, let's go." I said, carrying our luggage. Time flies so fast, doesn't it?

~TBC~


End file.
